RETHINKING PRINT DESIGN The impact of sustainability on the future of print

69 Pages·2014·1.64 MB·English

RETHINKING PRINT DESIGN
The impact of sustainability on the future
of print
Camille Romano

Bachelor‘s thesis
April 2014
Degree Programme in Media
ABSTRACT
Tampereen Ammattikorkeakoulu
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Degree programme in Media

CAMILLE ROMANO
Rethinking Print Design
The impact of sustainability on the future of print

Bachelor's thesis 69 pages, appendices 2 pages
April 2014
Sustainability is a current design topic of both interest and concern. After decades of
scientific research, the environmental impact of human activity on nature is now widely
recognized. Print, when it involves paper, is a discipline of design that is especially
demanding on these resources. Print has been the primary target of action of the green
revolution. This explains partially its steady decline and why print design needs to
reinvent itself to continue to be a relevant means of communication.
The thesis aims to show that sustainability, instead of being the downfall of print
design, is actually a phenomenon that has the potential to reinvent this discipline. The
theory part gives an overview of the conceptual, technical and economical innovations
sustainability brings to the print industry. The background research has been performed
in order to develop the hypothesis that sustainability is redefining print design and
providing it with a credible and relevant future among digital supports.
The practical part of this thesis consists of conducting a qualitative research in form of
focused interviews of four professionals in the field of sustainable print design. The aim
was to collect empirical data in order to gain a deeper understanding on what is
sustainable print design. Eventually, this data confirmed my above-mentioned
hypothesis. Moreover, I had the intention to carry the thesis question further by
approaching the subject from a more concrete standpoint. I took the opportunity to
collect empirical data in order to understand the factors and approach that led to
developing a successful sustainable print business.
The results suggest that education on sustainability is an essential power for awareness
to environmental issues that can translate later on, on the successful implementation of
sustainable practices in a professional workplace. Personal motives showed to be
necessary to develop thoughtful and innovative creative frameworks. Finally, the
respondents unanimously agreed that sustainability will redefine print design and give it
a relevant status among digital technologies.

The findings indicate that sustainability is an inclusive phenomenon that other areas of
design need to take into account to continue to be relevant in the future. This is the case
of web and digital design which environmental impact, though little-known, represent a
new, colossal threat for the environment.

Key words: print design, sustainability, environment
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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 6
2 PRINT DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY .............................................................. 7
2.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Print Design Now ...................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 Sustainability: a wave phenomenon .......................................................... 9
2.1.3 The “Green Consumer Bandwagon”...................................................... 11
2.1.4 The 21st century wave ............................................................................. 12
2.2 The shift of designers´ ideals ............................................................................. 14
2.2.1 Redefining the concept of Good Design ................................................. 14
2.2.2 The lack of context .................................................................................. 15
2.2.3 The role of the designer........................................................................... 17
2.3 Emerging creative frameworks .......................................................................... 19
2.3.1 Designing backwards .............................................................................. 20
2.3.2 Biomimicry ............................................................................................. 22
2.3.3 Cradle-to-cradle....................................................................................... 24
3 SUSTAINABILITY AND TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS .................................... 26
3.1 Inks ..................................................................................................................... 28
3.1.1 UV inks ................................................................................................... 29
3.1.2 Vegetable-, soy- and water-based inks.................................................... 29
3.1.3 BRC Label ............................................................................................... 30
3.1.4 Ink choices .............................................................................................. 30
3.1.5 Alternatives ............................................................................................. 31
3.1.6 Note on typefaces .................................................................................... 31
3.2 Paper .................................................................................................................. 32
3.2.1 Tree ......................................................................................................... 33
3.2.2 Energy ..................................................................................................... 34
3.2.3 Water ....................................................................................................... 34
3.2.4 Alternative fibers ..................................................................................... 39
3.2.5 Synthetic fibers........................................................................................ 40
3.3 Printing ............................................................................................................... 40
3.3.1 Small run ................................................................................................. 42
3.3.2 Medium run ............................................................................................. 42
3.3.3 Large run ................................................................................................. 43
3.4 Trimming ........................................................................................................... 44
3.5 Coating and binding ........................................................................................... 45
3.5.1 Coatings .................................................................................................. 46
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3.5.2 Bindings .................................................................................................. 47
4 THE VALUE BEHIND SUSTAINABILITY ........................................................... 49
4.1 The cost of waste ............................................................................................... 49
4.2 Washing away the green .................................................................................... 51
4.3 Transparency and creativity ............................................................................... 53
5 PRACTICALLY SPEAKING ................................................................................... 54
5.1 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 54
5.2 Profiles ............................................................................................................... 54
5.2.1 Ooligan Press/ Abbey Gaterud ................................................................ 55
5.2.2 Papercut Design/ Claire Connelly ........................................................... 55
5.2.3 Calverts Cooperative/ Arthur Stitt .......................................................... 56
5.2.4 Viola Design/ Anna Carlile ..................................................................... 56
5.3 Data collection and sources of information ....................................................... 56
5.4 Results ................................................................................................................ 57
5.4.1 Education and self-learning..................................................................... 57
5.4.2 Personal motives and common values .................................................... 58
5.4.3 The future of the print design industry .................................................... 60
6 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 61
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 63
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 68
Appendix 1. Interview Questions .............................................................................. 68
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ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS

Digital/ Digital design A term used to describe a wide variety of computer related
skills, includes work in fields such as web design, digital
imaging and 3D modeling. The term can further be
expanded to any digitally created visual media.
Sustainability/sustainable Any action that does not degrade the systems supporting it,
and therefore can persist indefinitely. (Dougherty 2008, 28)
Sustainable design The aim behind sustainable design is to avoid negative
environmental impact completely through skillful
and thoughtful design. Manifestations of sustainable design
require no non-renewable resources, impact the environment
minimally, and connect people with the natural environment.
Beyond the "elimination of negative environmental impact",
sustainable design must create projects that are meaningful
innovations that can shift behavior. A dynamic balance
between economy and society, intended to generate long-
term relationships between user and object/service and
finally to be respectful and mindful of the environmental and
social differences. (EngageByDesign, 2011)
Greenwashing When a company or organization spends more time and
money claiming to be ―green‖ through advertising and
marketing than actually implementing business practices that
minimize environmental impact. (Greenwashing Index,
2013)
Print/ Print Design As used in this thesis, the word refers to any area of
design whose final product will end up as a physical
printed item. It includes packaging, advertising, corporate
identity, publishing, logo design, illustration and so forth.
This thesis will cover mainly paper printed items.
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1 INTRODUCTION

The idea of this thesis came when, after personal research, I began to familiarize myself
with the principles behind sustainable design. I had little to no knowledge on the matter
but I found this phenomenon fascinating due to the various innovations and creative
revamping it brings to the print industry.

The adjective sustainable defines any action that does not harm the systems enabling it
and can thus, in theory, carry on indefinitely (Dougherty, 2008, 28). Undoubtedly,
sustainability is an inclusive phenomenon that raises the question of responsibility to all
industries and ultimately each individual. After decades of scientific research, the
environmental impact of human activity on nature is a widely recognized fact. Print-
including packaging, edition, brochure, and all physical, printed items- is a discipline of
design that is especially demanding on these resources. Print has been the main target of
the green revolution which partially explains its steady decline. Print design needs to
reinvent itself to continue to be a relevant means of communication.

In this thesis, my aim is to explore the topic of sustainability in direct relation to the
necessary rethinking of print design. This includes an overview of the impact of
sustainability on conceptual design ideals, such as what is good design, the role of the
designer and education. I will also approach the subject on a technical standpoint—
material innovations and engineering—and economically speaking by going through
business related matters such as the value of sustainability in branding. This background
research was performed in order to develop the hypothesis that sustainability will
redefine print design and provide it with a credible and relevant future among digital
supports.

I chose to perform a qualitative research by the means of focused interviews of four
professionals of sustainable print design in order to collect data confirming my thesis
hypothesis. Also, my aim was to gather empirical knowledge on the circumstances and
means that led these professionals to developing successful print businesses that follow
sustainable standards.
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2 PRINT DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY

2.1 Background

2.1.1 Print Design Now

Print design has never gone under such transformative process than during the
introduction of computer in the 1980´s and the digital technologies that would follow.
Prior to that, the process of creating printed materials was very lengthy. Graphic
designers were using scalpels, drawing boards, darkrooms and typesetting machines,
and a wide arsenal of tools that have become now obsolete. Typically, a creative team
was composed of many individuals, each with a strength in a particular technique:

There used to be a designer that was very good with the rapidograph for
instance, so they were almost an artist in the sense of the lines they would
draw, where the rule was and whether it was a certain size. And there
might be somebody else that was very good with a photostat camera, and
they would make position stats to indicate the exact cropping, and the size
and position of the images on a page. Maybe somebody else was very
good with the mechanical boards in terms of paste up and using rubber
cement and getting photostats pasted down onto the page layout exactly
where they needed to be. (PsPrint 2010.)
The advent of the computer did make all these techniques unnecessary and speeded the
creative process up fourfold (Perez 2010). Nowadays, our everyday lives are deeply
intertwined with digital technologies. Smartphones, tablets, laptops and such provide
instant and open access to information and communication. Will the digital technologies
replace print? Since the rapid growth of the Internet, this is a question that has been
popping around the marketing world.

There is no way to deny that print industry has been affected by digital devices. For
instance, in the USA, the print industry´s revenues are declining at an average of 6.2%
every year and the projections show that this decline will continue in the next five years,
though at a slower pace (piworld.com, 2012), at a time digital devices are becoming
more and more popular. However, it would be wrong to conclude that print design is
disappearing. Time has shown that print is holding its stance rather strongly among
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digital medias, and even benefit from their apparent success. The reason is that print
design still—and will—carry out classic values that web is struggling to attain.

Credibility is one of them. Over the years, the web has been victim of its own success.
While it is true that the web provides us with handy, instant access to an overwhelming
amount of data, it has grown into a saturated host for ads, information, news and
resources of all kinds. In certain cases, digital supports are even striving to look like
print to attract audience, for instance with e-books. The fact that anyone can publish and
express themselves on Internet has taken a toll on the quality of the content. It has also
become harder for businesses to get their voice heard among the digital cacophony.
Nowadays, anyone can put up an internet website or digital campaign with little means.
In contrast, print always carries a sense of legitimacy for a brand, business or
publication. An impression of quality and reliability is carried through the printed
support, attesting of a real effort to impact and connect with the audience.

Print publications that consistently deliver high-quality, reliable content
develop credibility with their readers. Businesses capitalize on something
called the "halo effect" to use the credibility of publications to their own
advantage. In essence, the "halo effect" means that a person takes a
positive thought or feeling associated with one thing and applies it,
appropriately or inappropriately, to something related. In the case of print
publications, the readers take the credibility generated by the quality of
content and apply it to the advertisements, making the readers more likely
to purchase a product or service. (Dontigney 2014.)
This is especially true when the layout of the printed material is well executed. It is a
feeling of substance, tangibility, authenticity, missing from the ephemeral and
desensitizing media world of digital communications (Kaye 2013) that appeal to our
senses. The physical and emotional reaction from touching paper and holding the object
is the key to leaving a lasting impression in our minds. All good printed publications
give a feeling of substance and stimulate the senses as it has been crafted carefully by
experts in their field (printpower.eu 2014).

This last part is crucial to establish a qualitative hierarchy between digital and printed
content. As well as being accessible and practical, printed materials have the power to
engage the people reading (in the case of publications), more than websites which are
often swept as fast as a 15 second visit (Forbes 2012). Martin Pecina, professional book
designer and brilliant typograph, proclaims during his interview with Novum Magazine
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World of Graphic Design that ―No flat screen can take the place of well-designed
magazines with fine typography; printed on fabulous paper.‒ ‒Print is by no means
dead. I personally hope that e-books will simply just kill off poor-quality literature,
increasing demand for good typography and beautifully designed books.‒ ‒ Anything
else can be downloaded from the Internet‖ (2013, 28).

Finally, print is still one of the most influential supports for a successful advertising
campaign when it is combined with other medias.

An effective marketing campaign works best when print is used with other
medias as one element of an integrated solution. Adding magazines to a
mix of TV and internet increases brand favorability by 44% and purchase
intention by 15%. (PrintPower, Dynamic Logic 2009.)
Print persists as a relevant support which offers unique benefits to its users. Numbers
might show it is declining globally but its influence remains. Rather, print is
repositioning itself to be a relevant answer to the needs of publishers, advertisers,
consumers and businesses in the digital age. Such transformation calls for a new and
unique angle to redefine what print is and that it will be. The best way to do so is to
evaluate what needs to be changed and improved to provide the industry with new
guidelines, ethics, technical innovations and therefore a viable future. Currently, there is
only one solution that could benefit the print industry with such conversion:
sustainability.

2.1.2 Sustainability: a wave phenomenon

Even though sustainability is a very current subject of discussion and action, this
concept is not new. In her 1962 book called Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, an American
marine biologist who would become later a full time writer, was the first one to connect
human impact, particularly in the use of pesticides, to environmental problems. It is
widely agreed that Silent Spring triggered a revision of the American pesticide policy
which led to a ban on some of the worst chemicals used in agriculture at that time.
Carson also generated interest in environmental concerns to an unprecedented
proportion of American people. Along with Carson, two other visionaries, perhaps less
known, widely inspired designers to reflect on their responsibility towards the
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environment´s degradation and social injustice: Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) and
Victor Papanek (1923-1998) (Sherin 2008, 16).

As an inventor, scientist and environmental activist, Buckminster Fuller´s concerns
were related to the unsustainable use of natural resources and the ability for humans to
survive with such production system. Aware of the finite resources that Earth can
provide, he believed and promoted the concept of doing more with less. He was
convinced that the level of technological advances, proper knowledge the amount of
natural resources that had already been extracted from the ground by the mid-20th
century would eliminate the need of competing for necessities. He thought that
resources and raw material waste could be recycled in order to make new products and
therefore increase the efficiency of the whole industrial process.

Initially trained as an industrial designer, Victor Papanek was opposed to the
manufacturing of poorly designed, purely aesthetical, useless objects. In his iconic book
Design for the Real World, he wrote ―One of my first jobs after leaving school was to
design a table radio‒ ‒ It was my first, and I hope my last, encounter with appearance
design, styling, or design ‗cosmetics" (Papanek 1972). He believed that only a small
part of the responsibility of a designer lies in the area of aesthetics and that ―design has
become the most powerful tool with which man shapes his tools and environments‖
(Papanek 1972). His statement clearly shows his belief that designers have a significant
impact towards the environment´s well-being, or its demise. In his second book called
The Green Imperative, Victor Papanek stated that one of the mandatory skills of a
designer included ―the wisdom to anticipate the environmental, ecological, economic,
and political consequences of design intervention‖ (Papanek, 1995). He went further on
to raise the question ―whether designers, architects, and engineers can be held
personally responsible and legally liable for creating tools, objects, appliances and
buildings that bring about environmental deterioration‖ (Papanek 1995), At first,
voicing such bold opinions outcast him from his colleagues. By the mid 1990´s, with
the help of his second book The Green Imperative and the positive evolution of the
public opinion about sustainability, many of Papanek´s contemporaries who had
originally been doubtful changed their minds and went on supporting his ideas.

Along with early environmental visionaries, several historical facts helped to bring
environmental issues to light. As a result of several millennia of technological